This invention relates to an apparatus for supplying paper to a book producing (or binding) machine, as well as to a mechanism for connecting such an apparatus to the book binding machine.
A book binding machine of the kind to which this invention relates, as shown at 1 in FIGS. 13 and 14, comprises a clamping station 2, a milling station 3, a gluing station 4 and a nipping station, and a clamper 6 having a mobile clamp plate 7, and a stationary fixed clamp plate 8 is provided and adapted to visit these sections sequentially.
The clamping station 2 is where the page sheets 15 sent from a printer or a copier are piled up sequentially according to their page numbers. The pages for one book thus piled in the right order and ready to be clamped together will be hereinafter referred to as "the book block". Each book block 16 is inserted between the mobile clamp plate 7 and the fixed clamp plate 8 of the clamper 6 such that the back surface 18 of the book block 16 will be opposite a level plate 9, and the book block 16 thus inserted is moved to the side of the mobile clamp plate 7 facing the fixed clamp plate 8 so as to be clamped by the clamper 6. The milling station 3 is where the back surface 18 of the book block 16 clamped by the clamper 6 in the clamping station 2 is made uniform by means of a milling machine. The gluing station is where a glue is applied by a gluing machine 11 on the back surface 18 of the book block 16 made uniform at the milling station 3. The processes at the milling station 3 and the gluing station 4 are carried out while the book block 16 remains clamped by the damper 6 and moved thereby. At the nipping station 5, one of the cover sheets 17 on a stoker (or a cover sheet table) is already taken to nipping plates 12, 13 and set at a specified position. The book block 16 clamped by the damper 6 and having its back surface 18 preliminarily glued is positioned above and between the nipping plates 12, 13. Both the nipping plates 12, 13 and their bottom plate 14 are raised slightly such that the back surface 18 of the book block 16 is glued to the cover sheet 17 with the book block 16 sandwiched between the cover sheet 17 and contacted to the bottom plate 14 between the nipping plates 12, 13. At about the same time, the nipping plates 12, 13 are moved such that the cover sheet 17 is folded while edge parts of the back surface 18 of the book block 16 are tightened from both sides, thereby causing the cover sheet 17 to become attached to the book block 16.
With a book binding machine as described above, it is its operator that forms the book blocks and inserts them one by one between the mobile clamp plate 7 and the fixed clamp plate 8. There are situations, as shown in FIG. 15, however, where a paper supplying apparatus 20 may be set near the clamping station 2 of the book binding machine 1 and a printer or a copier 10 is set near the paper supplying apparatus 20 such that printed sheets 15 can be sequentially supplied from the printer or the copier 21 first to the paper supplying apparatus 20 where they are piled and made into a book block 16 and that the book block 16 thus formed is then clamped by a damper 31 attached to a rotary arm 30 as shown in FIG. 16 and inserted between the mobile clamp plate 7 and the fixed clamp plate 8 of the damper 6. In other words, there are situations where all the processes from printing or copying to binding books are carried out automatically in a continuous flow.
When the paper supplying apparatus 20 is thus used in combination with the book binding machine 1, the book block 16 is generally inserted from above into the damper 6 because the damper 6 for the book binding machine 1 is usually of a center impeller type for securing sufficient strength. If the book block 16 is inserted from above, however, it often happens that the bottom part of the book block 16 expands, as shown in FIG. 17, because some of the sheets 15 may be naturally warped, and the insertion of the book block 16 may not be effected easily or properly.
Another problem associated with using the paper supplying apparatus 20 in combination with the book binding machine 1 is a matter of space. When an operator has a work to do with the book binding machine 1, for example, there is not enough space for the operator, and the work of inserting the book block 16 at the clamping station becomes very difficult. In view of this difficulty, it has been known to provide the book binding machine 1 with an additional clamping station 2 for the paper supplying apparatus 20. This, however, has the unfavorable effect of making the book binding machine 1 larger in size and complicated in structure, requiring a large floor space for its installation.